Choujin Sentai Jetman
is the fifteenth entry of the Super Sentai series, produced by the Toei Company and Bandai, following the previous series Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman. The series aired on TV Asahi on February 15, 1991 to February 14, 1992, with a total of 51 episodes. Development Choujin Sentai Jetman is the first Sentai series that paid homage to another series, . Developed before the ending of Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman, Toei chose Keita Amemiya to be the series's director. During its development, the series is once called , and searched for actors who would play the main characters. One of them were Toshihide Wakamatsu who would go on to play Gai Yuki/Black Condor. Before the series, the members were all referred to by their color but both Amemiya and Suzuki said that "this was unnatural" and decided the characters to refer each other by their names instead of their colors. Episodes without the characters transforming and fighting were also proposed, but seriously opposed by Bandai until the later half of the series. The more mature themes such as drama, romantic love triangles and tragedy were in the series's after Takeyuki Suzuki watched , and wanted to capture it's "high romance". Both the comedy and dramatic tones influenced the series's overall popularity and had become its defining part. Plot This series takes place in 199X. On the Earth Ship, the command center of a defence agency called Skyforce, the guardians of peace on Earth, scientists have developed "Birdonic Waves", a newly developed technology which gives the subject superhuman abilities. Experiments called "J-Project" were successful. Aya Odagiri, the director of the project, chooses five elite Skyforce officials from Earth to use this technology. Ryu Tendo, one of the Skyforce officers, is successfully exposed to the Birdonic Waves, making him the first Jetman, the Red Hawk. However, the Earth Ship is suddenly attacked by Vyram, an evil outer-dimensional organization bent on inter-dimensional domination. They successfully destroy the ship, apparently killing Ryu's lover and fellow candidate member Rie. In the chaos, the remaining Birdonic Waves for the other four officials become scattered on Earth, hitting four civilians. Odagiri and Tendo successfully escape and begin searching on Earth for the four remaining Jetmen, training them to aid them in stopping Vyram's plans of conquering their dimension. The series later follows the tribulations of Ryu as he learns of Rie's survival and enlistment in the Vyram forces, as well as a love triangle between Gai, Ryu, and Kaori. Characters Jetmen Neo-Jetmen Allies Skyforce * Commander Aya Odagiri * Supreme Commander Akira Ichijo Back Dimension Allies * Back Dimension Dimensian Soldiers (23, 24) ** Ray ** Kanna * Back Dimension Berserker Soldiers (29) ** Lou ** Duran Other Allies * Jiiya * Kyotaro Tatsumi (8) *Satsuki Ooishi (9, 51) *Poohtan (21) *Dryer Dimension (28) Dimensional War Party Vyram * Back Dimensional Count Radiguet/Radigan/Raguem * Tran/Emperor Tranza * Rie Aoi/Maria * Grey * Empress Juuza (17-18) * Grinam Soldiers * (Bio) Dimensional Beasts **Radiguet's Dimensional Beasts ***Dimensional Bug Mother (1-2) ***Fighter Dimension (2) ***Road Dimension (4-5) ***House Dimension (6) ***Armor Snake (29) ***Toxic Rat (35) ***Torpedo Piranha (37) ***Meteor BEM (40-41) ***Leech Drill (43) **Tran/Tranza's Dimensional Beasts ***Faucet Dimension (3,27) ***Fashion Dimension (9) ***Noodle Dimension (10,27) ***Bus Dimension (12) ***Paper Dimension (16,27) ***Vacuum Dimension (20) ***Dryer Dimension (28) ***Ant Bazooka (36) ***Laser Lizard (38) ***Hammer Chameleon (38) **Maria's Dimensional Beasts ***Mirror Dimension (7) ***Diamond Dimension (8,27) ***Camera Dimension (13-14) ***Voice Dimension (15) ***Fortune Telling Dimension (19) ***Poohtan/Trash Dimension (21) ***Light Armadillo (25) ***Adhesive Cockroach (33) **Grey's Dimensional Beasts ***Vending Machine Dimension (11) ***Dimensional Mammoth (26) ***Sniper Cat (39) Other Villains *Destruction Beast Semimaru (18-24) *Majin **Majin Mu (30) **Majin Ramon and Gorg (30-32) *Strange Dimensional Lifeform Hell Medusa (34) *Trial Manufacture Robot G2 (42) *Majin Robo Veronica (43-45) *Tomato Great King (46) Arsenal Transformation Devices * Cross Changer Communication Devices * Corresponder Multi-Use Devices * Bird Icons Sidearms * Jet Hand Cannon ** Bird Blaster ** Bringer Sword Other Weapons * Smash Bomber ** Beak Smasher * Wing Gauntlet Vehicles * Jet Striker * Jet Bouncer * Jet Speeders Mecha Jet Machines System :Legend:◆ piloted mecha, ✶ team-piloted mecha, ● other * Hyper Haken / Great Icarus / ✶ ** Icarus Haken / Jet Icarus / *** Jet Hawk *** Jet Condor or Jet Eagle *** Jet Owl *** Jet Swan *** Jet Swallow ** Bird Garuda / Jet Garuda * Tetraboy / Tetrabuster Episodes Cast * : * : * : (Credited under ) * : * : * : *Jiiya: * / : * : * : * : * : *Narrator: Guest Stars * Secretary: * Physical Education's Teacher: * Policewoman: * Soijiro Kitaochi (Kaori's fiancée): * Priest: * Middle Age Man: * Emiko Aihara: * Kinuyo Tendo (Ryu's Grandmother): * Kyotaro Tatsumi: * Satsuki: * Bus Passenger: * Empress Juuza: * Kaori Rokumeikan (child): * Michiru: * Ray: * Kanna: * Dan: * Scientist: * Akira Yanagi: * Supreme Commander Akira Ichijo: * J1/Neo Jetman 1: * J2/Neo Jetman 2: * J3/Neo Jetman 3: * J4/Neo Jetman 4: * J5/Neo Jetman 5: Suit actors * Red Hawk - Kazuo Niibori and Hiroshi Maeda * Black Condor - Naoki Ofuji * Yellow Owl, Jet Garuda - Hirofumi Ishigaki and Tomihisa Naruse * White Swan - Yuichi Hachisuka and Masato Akada * Blue Swallow - Shoji Hachisuka * Tetraboy - Yasuhiro Takeuchi * Jet Icarus, Jet Garuda, Great Icarus - Hideaki Kusaka * Dimensional Beasts - Takeshi Miyazaki Songs ;Opening theme * **Lyrics: **Composition and Arrangement: **Artist: Hironobu Kageyama ;Ending theme * **Lyrics: Toyohisa Araki **Composition: Koji Tsuno **Arrangement: Kenji Yamamoto **Artist: Hironobu Kageyama ;Insert theme *Jet Icarus, Muteki Robo! *Jet Garuda, Tori no Robo *Toki wo Kakete *Honoo no Condor *Game ja Nai n da ze *Oozora no Chikai *Tori ni Narou yo *Kanashiki Grinam-hei *Aozora de Aimashou *Youki na Ako-chan Related media Novels Following the conclusion of the TV series, the series main screenwriter, Toshiki Inoue, wrote a trilogy of Jetman novels from 1992 to 1995 that retold the events of the TV series. The novels were written specifically for adult fans of the TV series and included mature content, such as detailed descriptions of sexual intercourse between Ryū and Rie, Gai and Kaori, and Radiguet and Maria. Empress Jūza, a one-off villain in the series, had an extended role while the Dimensional Beasts and giant robots were eliminated, with the Jetmen fighting humans subjected to the Vyram's experiments instead. Manga A manga sequel to Jetman was published in 1996 authored by Akiko Fujii, in cooperation with the series' writing team (still under the Saburo Yatsude pen name). It was titled . Set five years after the series (and, therefore, two years after the story ends), it shows the four remaining Jetmen rejoining to battle a revived Radiguet, who had possessed Tranza's broken body. Radiguet kidnaps Ryu and Kaori's one-year-old daughter Aya Tendoh and, much in the same way he turned Rie into Maria before, he accelerates her growth and brainwashes her into becoming Ruma, whom he considers a daughter. Meanwhile, Gai's empty spot in the team is filled by a young rock guitarist called Jeff Kensaki, who is empowered by Birdonic Waves after a meteorite crashes next to him, and becomes Green Eagle. In this manga series, the Jetmen uniform is slightly different, with the helmets more closely resembling those of Gatchaman (translucent, protruding visors, and uncovered faces). Video game A video game version of Choujin Sentai Jetman was released for the on December 21, 1991. The game was published by Angel (a subsidiary of Bandai) and developed by Natsume. It is a single-player side-scrolling action game where the player assumes role one of the Jetmen members as they fight against the forces of Vyram. The player can choose which Jetman they want to control at the start of each stage, each having their own weapon and maximum hit points: * Red Hawk and Black Condor: Bringer Sword, 8 hit points * Yellow Owl: Wing Gauntlet, 7 hit points * Blue Swallow and White Swan: Bird Blasters, 6 hit points The initial five stages, Area A to Area E, can be played in any order, while the sixth and final stage, Area F, becomes available once the others have cleared. Each stage begins with a standard side-scrolling level in which the player fight their way to the end of level in order to reach the stage's boss. Each Jetman has three types of attack: a weapon attack, a kick, and a special attack that destroys all enemies, but can only be used once (unless a replenishment is found). The boss segments consists of one-on-one battles between the team's giant robot, the Great Icarus, and a giant monster (all based on monsters from the show). The player has a four-level power gauge that will gradually fill up during the course of battle, which can be used to perform one of four possible special attacks. The following is a list of bosses in the game and the stages where they appear: * Mirror Jigen (Area A) * Camera Jigen (Area B) * Bus Jigen (Area C) * Light Armadillo (Area D) * Dimensional Mammoth (Area E) * Destruction Beast Semimaru (Area F) The game features four difficulty settings, a password option, and a Battle Mode where the player can fight against any of the first five bosses. Reception As of 2015, the series has become one of the most popular and darkest entries in the Super Sentai franchise. It officially gained a much wider audience and got a rating of 7.1% average, beating Fiveman's 6.5%. Despite the series also receiving criticism for adding "romance drama to a children's show", Gai Yuki became an instant hit with Japanese mothers; who sent clemency pleas to TV Asahi so that they did not kill him off. It is still today considered to Sentai fans a masterpiece and topped the number 1 popular vote in both Bandai's B-CLUB magazine and Toei's "Super Sentai Request Tournament". In the end, total revenue from the series greatly exceeded over 15 billion yen. Notes *This is the first Sentai series to have a Third Robo, Tetraboy. *''Jetman'' introduces the format of the first five Rangers being, Red, Blue, Yellow, Black, and White, followed by Kakuranger, Gaoranger and Abaranger. *This is the first three-male/two female team to switch genders between the Blue and Yellow Rangers (the male wears yellow while the female wears blue) followed by Magiranger. **Note that Liveman and Hurricaneger, despite featuring female Blue Rangers, cannot be counted as both of their respective Blue Rangers were the only females of their respective teams. *This the first three male/two female team to not feature a Pink Ranger, though White Swan featured pink accents, much like her eventual successor GaoWhite. Another Pink-free two-female team would not happen again until Gekiranger. *Like its respective 1981 and 1984 predecessors Sun Vulcan and Bioman, Jetman was also considered to be the first series to be adapted as a Power Rangers series, but ultimately not adapted. The first adaptation to a Power Rangers series would later go to its immediate successor, Zyuranger. *A game based on Jetman was released for the Nintendo Famicom. *This is the first season in a while where the transformation call is not any of the Sentai Heroes' respective designations (instead, their transformation device's name), a trend that took much of the early years of the Sentai Series. *This is the last Sentai team where a member of the core team dies. After this season, all permanent deaths have only occured with Extra Rangers or Heroes. *The individual cockpits for the Jet Machines, The main cockpit Jet Icarus, Bird/Jet Garuda & Great Icaruswould would later be reused in the next season, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger as the individual cockpits for the Guardian Beasts & Dragon Caesar, while the main cockpit was used for Daizyuzin, Gouryuzin, Zyutei Daizyuzin & Ultimate Daizyuzin which was used in footage for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Season 1) as the cockpits for the Dinozords, Dragonzord, Megazord, Dragonzord Battle Mode, & Ultrazord. *This is the only season until Mahou Sentai Magiranger and Shuriken Sentai Ninninger to have a male Yellow Ranger in a three-male/two female team. References External links *[http://super-sentai.net/sentai/jet.html Choujin Sentai Jetman] at super-sentai.net *'' '' at *[http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/鳥人戦隊ジェットマン Choujin Sentai Jetman] at Japanese Wikipedia Category:Earth Technology Category:Seasons that start with less than 5 Rangers